On 21 March 2025, the CEN and CENELEC Industry Advisory Forum (IAF) held the kick-off meeting for its third mandate. During the meeting, IAF members had the opportunity to share expectations and key urgencies. The Chair and Co-Chair for the next term were also elected.
Established in 2018, the IAF allows European industry representatives to provide input to CEN and CENELEC on political and economic matters. Comprised of 18 industry representatives, the IAF identifies issues where standards can help European industry, leveraging standardization as a competitive advantage and a lever for European industrial competitiveness.
In practice, the IAF advises the CEN and CENELEC Presidential Committee (PC) and relevant Board Standing Committees (BSC) on relevant topics. It proposes short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations for the strategic interest of CEN and CENELEC. The IAF reports to the CEN and CENELEC Presidential Committee. At the meeting last week, Vice Presidents Policy Ewa Zielinska (CENELEC) and Olivier Peyrat (CEN), together with CENELEC Vice President Technical Jos Remy shared the strategic priorities for CEN and CENELEC.
The kick-off meeting also provided an opportunity to look back on past achievements and consider lessons learned. During the first two terms, the IAF managed 15 strategic and focus Working Groups to deliver hundreds of recommendations on strategic topics as well as the EU agenda.
In addition, during the meeting, IAF members identified strategic topics and defined next steps. The members also elected the Chair and Co-Chair for the next three-year term. Yann Fromont from Schneider Electric has been elected as Chair for his second term. As for Co-Chair, Gabriel Bareux from RTE France’s Transmission System Operator was elected. Both Chair and Co-Chair were nominated to the group by CENELEC Member AFNOR-CEF.
Ready for its third mandate, the IAF is poised to continue shaping the future of European standardization. Its ongoing collaboration with CEN and CENELEC will ensure that industry perspectives remain central to the development of relevant, forward-looking standards that support Europe’s industrial ambitions.
